I Yearn for a Day with No Password Reset Help Desk Calls

I really do. You know, someone once told me that the average help desk call costs a company $20 or $25. I can't remember the actual value, or even the analyst who came up with the number. The actual number itself isn't all that important. What is important is the recognition that help desk calls cost money.

Why do the really stupid help desk calls feel like they cost more?

Most SMB IT shops today yearn for a day where they'll no longer have to deal with password reset help desk calls. These calls might not be as expensive as the analysts say, but they do cost in terms of time spent. Every time the phone rings, you the IT pro get 10 or 15 minutes behind on whatever you're doing. For a simple task like a password reset, wouldn't it be nice to offload the problem to an automated system? If you're wondering what to consider in a solution, watch this video where I sketch out a self-service password solution.

You can, but doing so will require a third-party solution. In this article I talk about why a seemingly-simple thing like a self-service password reset solution still isn't part of Windows. I discuss some of the features such a solution absolutely must have for you to want to deploy it. Some of those features (like not having to use an always-logged-in kiosk) you might not have thought of. I also discuss how implementing a self-service solution also assists in other ways, like enabling users to stop writing passwords on yellow sticky notes. Even that future state is one that's worth the price of entry.

I'd be glad to never see another password stuck to a monitor for the rest of my career.